Maternal PPARγ Protects Nursing Neonates by Suppressing the Production of Inflammatory Milk

The document from 2007 reports a study that demonstrated the importance of maternal PPARγ in preventing the production of inflammatory milk, which can lead to inflammation, alopecia, and growth retardation in nursing neonates. The study involved creating PPARγ knockout mice and observing the effects on their offspring, with pups showing hair loss and growth issues when nursed by PPARγ-deficient mothers. These conditions were resolved after weaning onto a standard diet or by fostering with wild-type mothers. The study also found that PPARγ deficiency led to increased lipid accumulation and altered gene expression in mammary glands, and that the hair loss could be treated with COX inhibitors. The study included gene expression analyses with a sample size of n=4 for skin and n=6 for liver, and a fostering experiment with eight pups for complete rescue and eight pups for 75% penetrance of hair loss. It concluded that maternal PPARγ is essential for the health of nursing newborns by regulating milk composition.